Definition: Tourism refers to the practice of travelling for pleasure, especially to places of interest for sightseeing, experiencing different cultures, or enjoying natural landscapes. It encompasses the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for leisure, business, or other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited.
Etymology and Origin: The term ‘tourism’ originates from the word ‘tour’, which is derived from the Old French ‘tour’, meaning ‘a turn, a trip, a round’. The French word, in turn, comes from the Latin ‘tornus’, meaning ‘a tool for circling or turning’, which was borrowed from the Greek word ‘tornos‘, meaning ‘lathe or circle’. The use of ‘tourism’ in the context of travel for pleasure began to gain prominence in the early 19th century.
